Fireworks were a big attraction downtown Indianapolis during the Donatos Downtown Freedom Blast, shooting from the top of the Region's Bank Tower, Thursday, July 4 2013. (Mike Fender/ The Star)

But that Hoosier Lottery Grand Finale at Thursday's Downtown fireworks show cost $65,000 to put on.

That's the amount the lottery agreed to dole out when it signed on to be the newest sponsor of the Donatos Downtown Freedom Blast - and provide an added 500 firework shells for the finale.

The sponsorship was a chance to advertise and promote the lottery products, as well as educate the public on exactly what it does, said spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland .

"We believe this is a promotional path that represents good stewardship of those (taxpayer) dollars in selling lottery tickets," McFarland wrote in an email. "And (it) provides an educational opportunity of where lottery benefits are distributed (i.e. police/fire and teachers' pensions, and to reduce vehicle-owner excise taxes)."

In 2012, $30 million in lottery revenue went to the pension and disability funds for retired Hoosier police officers and firefighters, while another $30 million was allocated to retired teachers, according to the lottery's annual report.

More than $150 million was used to offset Hoosiers' motor vehicle excise taxes via the Build Indiana Fund last year.

That message came out loud and clear in that $65,000 sponsorship package, McFarland said, which included advertising space at the beginning and end of the televised fireworks broadcast, promotional announcements throughout and on-camera interviews with lottery staff.

The package also included television and radio ads on local stations, advertising the lottery's Independence Day Millionaire Raffle product.

Mayor Ballard busy at out-of-town events

Indianapolis Mayor Ballard has had a busy out-of-town schedule lately.

Late last month, he spent a long weekend in Las Vegas for the U.S. Conference of Mayors' annual meeting. That came a week after he was in Chicago for two days for the annual gathering of the Clinton Global Initiative America. Earlier in the month, the mayor was a featured speaker at the the Electric Drive Transportation Association's annual conference in Washington, D.C., where he told attendees about the city's clean-fleet initiative.

That's a lot of days out of the office - time away that Democrats have characterized as junkets, but in the Republican mayor's view, it's been time well spent.

He told us last week that his frequent trips have raised Indianapolis' profile nationally in key ways.

At the Conference of Mayors meeting, Ballard came away as a new member of the organization's advisory board, which helps set the group's direction. He already is co-chair of the organization's Mayors Water Council and chair of the Professional Sports Alliance.

And at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting, Ballard met with fellow members of the recently created Infrastructure Financing for Cities Task Force, which is focusing on ways to invest in cities' crumbling roads and other infrastructure needs. Indianapolis' utilities sale, which pumped $425 million into such projects, has gained notice nationally.

Ballard insisted his trips to such meetings out of state were valuable for residents back at home.

"The city gets a lot of recognition," he said, "which maybe gets businesses to look at what's going on in the city. You know, 'Why is Indianapolis doing so well?' I think that can only help. What do we call that - earned media? I think it just helps our credibility around the nation."

Rep. Young faces questions from Politifact

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid consume a large chunk of the federal budget - but not nearly as large a chunk as Rep. Todd Young claimed in a letter to constituents.

PolitiFact, a fact-checking Web site by the Tampa Bay Times and its partners, looked into the Bloomington Republican's claim that those three major entitlement programs make up nearly 70 percent of the federal budget.

The site found the actual share was 45 percent. To get close to 70 percent, spending on all other entitlement programs - such as food stamps, veterans' benefits and unemployment compensation - has to be included, along with interest on the national debt.

Young's spokesman acknowledged the error to PolitiFact. Spokesman Trevor Foughty said the letter should have referred to all forms of so-called "mandatory" spending, along with debt interest.

The site dubbed Young's claim "false" on its "Truth-o-Meter" scale, although didn't go as far as calling it "pants on fire," meaning not only is the statement inaccurate, but it's also ridiculous.